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Bezig met laden... The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason (origineel 2009; editie 2009)door Victor J. Stenger (Auteur)
Informatie over het werkThe New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason door Victor J. Stenger (2009)
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. This book tries to explain the "New Atheist" movement, though there's nothing new about it, and it has since fallen quite far (part of the reason I'm no longer involved with them). Though my opinion has changed of the movement and its ethos, it's a good book insofar as it helps explain the mindset behind a lack of belief. ( ) OK, so I usually hate the phrase "the new atheists", but when written by someone who understands the concept, and that the new atheism is indeed the same atheism we've always had, but a little less closeted, I can take it. This author does a good job of explaining why we need the new, in-your-face atheism in order to prevent religion from running the whole show. (posted on my blog: davenichols.net) Many critics of Victor Stenger's writing have accused him of taking one basic set of arguments and writing a dozen different books using them. While there is undoubtedly some overlap between his books (and some with more commonalities than with others), I can understand where this critique comes from. I felt that way, somewhat, after reading Quantum Gods after having read God: The Failed Hypothesis. This book, just released this month, falls somewhere in between those two in my view. Not as good as Failed Hypothesis, not as mediocre as Quantum Gods. Stenger kicks off this book with a look a the current state of New Atheism, and specifically, he discusses the recent success of new atheist books by Harris, Dawkins and others. He reviews a few points, counterpoints, and rebuttals to some of these arguments, leaving this first section as a nice overview of the state of popular bibliographic atheist/theist discourse. The middle parts of the book are more a scattershot look at some of the key arguments made by New Atheists, with chapters on evolution, suffering, and evil. Many of these arguments have been made countless times elsewhere, and while I've personally read better treatments, Stenger brings a reasonable summation of his views and those of others, such as Bart Ehrman. The rest of the book falls off track for me. Stenger launches into a large section which loses the narrative of the earlier chapters. While I love science and religion being brought together, Stenger seems to drift off to one of his lectures and forgets to keep the reader engaged. From there, the shift into a study of Eastern philosophy (as suggested in Sam Harris's book The End of Faith) drags the book into territory best left out. Stenger examines various philosophical ideas and ideals and finds that many of the non-dogmatic, less-theologically based philosophies, such as Buddhism, can offer a great deal of 'spiritual guidance' without the dangerous burdens of dogmatic religion. As in Harris's book, I feel this mushy, metaphysical subject matter is best left out. Stenger should have returned to a more in depth look at the current dialogue between atheists and theists. This for me is an excellent area of study which as been largely underrepresented. Stenger does leave a 'what is to come' chapter for last, but by that time, he's lost the plot. Stenger is always an engaging writer, although his direction can sometimes leave the reader feeling a bit confused. What starts off as a strong look at niche of current public discourse devolves into a rehashed science-religion argument which then re-devolves into a feel-good look at Eastern philosophy. To repeat, for me, it was better than the plodding Quantum Gods but not as focused and successful as Failed Hypothesis. Three and one-half stars. About the author, from the back cover: [he] is adjunct professor of philosophy at the U. of Colorado and emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the U. of Hawaii. He is author of ... "God: The Failed Hypothesis" and many other books. About the book, from the back cover: "Stenger's combined expertise in physics and philosophy prove fatal to any pretense that theism is defensible or rational." The book contains reference notes, an extensive bibliography, and an index. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
In recent years a number of bestselling books have forcefully argued that belief in God can no longer be defended on rational or empirical grounds, and that the scientific worldview has rendered obsolete the traditional beliefs held by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The authors of these books--Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Victor J. Stenger--have come to be known as the "New Atheists." Predictably, their works have been controversial and attracted a good deal of critical reaction. In this new book, Victor J. Stenger, whose God: The Failed Hypothesis was on the New York Times bestseller list in 2007, reviews and expands upon the principles of New Atheism and answers many of its critics. He demonstrates in detail that naturalism--the view that all of reality is reducible to matter and nothing else--is sufficient to explain everything we observe in the universe, from the most distant galaxies to the inner workings of the brain that result in the phenomenon of mind. Stenger disputes the claim of many critics that the question of whether God exists is beyond the ken of science. On the contrary, he argues that absence of evidence for God is, indeed, evidence of absence when the evidence should be there and is not. Turning from scientific to historical evidence, Stenger then points out the many examples of evil perpetrated in the name of religion. He also notes that the Bible, which is still taken to be divine revelation by millions, fails as a basis for morality and is unable to account for the problem of unnecessary suffering throughout the world. Finally, he discusses the teachings of ancient nontheist sages such as Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Confucius, whose guidelines for coping with the problems of life and death did not depend upon a supernatural metaphysics. Stenger argues that this "way of nature" is far superior to the traditional supernatural monotheisms, which history shows can lead to a host of evils. The New Atheism is a well-argued defense of the atheist position and a strong rebuttal of its critics. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)211.8Religions Natural Theology and Secularism Deism and Atheism AtheismLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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